It is clear from the above graph that the underemployment rate has a cyclical trend and is generally higher during recession periods.

Similar to the unemployment rate, the underemployment rate varies for different subgroups of the labor force.

For example, individuals with Ph.Ds enjoy low underemployment rate while individuals with high school diploma or lower usually suffer from a high underemployment rate.

The underemployment rate among graduates are also telling.

For young high school graduates, the unemployment rate is 29.9% (compared with 17.5% in 2007) and the underemployment rate is 51.5% (compared with 29.4% in 2007).

For young college graduates, the unemployment rate is 8.8% (vs. 5.7% in 2007) and the underemployment rate is 18.3% (vs. 9.9% in 2007).

The so-called "underemployment rate," which includes the unemployed and people working part-time involuntarily, is now 16.7 per cent, or about one in six.

It was developed to address the 70 to 80 percent un- and underemployment rate among people who are blind or visually impaired.

When those who have given up on seeking employment all together and those who are only able to find part time employment are taken into account, the nation's "underemployment" rate is 15.2 percent, totaling 23.7 million Americans.

The latest nationwide estimates, for example, place the underemployment rate at a shocking 19.3%.